Ruan Xi was made to laugh by Ruan Yuehua all night long, and even before going to bed, she was still laughing from time to time while lying in bed.
Ruan Jie lay beside her, not thinking about anything else, just savoring the taste of the chicken.
After Ruan Xi finished laughing, he remembered something important. He turned over to face Ruan Jie and said to her, "By the way, tomorrow afternoon, when the sun is halfway down in the west, you should wait for me on the road that you must take to get to the Golden Crown Brigade."
Ruan Jie came back to her senses and thought for a moment, "Going to study?"
Ruan Xi nodded, "Well, I'll take you to find Ling Yao and let him teach us."
Ruan Jie responded, "Okay."
After working at the sewing machine for a whole day and walking more than ten miles along the mountain road back home without taking a rest, Ruan Xi was now very tired. And her body was used to going to bed early, so after she finished speaking, she yawned and quickly fell asleep.
Ruan Jie had no worries in her mind and fell asleep quickly. She closed her eyes for a while and fell asleep.
The night was quiet, with occasional coughs coming from another room in the side house.
In the room on the west end of the main house, Ruan Changgui and Sun Xiaohui were lying side by side on the bed, both of them feeling very angry. They were so angry that they could hardly sleep. They looked at the ceiling of the tent and breathed deeply in the night.
After a long moment, Sun Xiaohui said, "I just can't figure it out. What ability does Xiaoxi have to fool the old tailor? She stood up for her, supported her, and even paid her wages."
Ruan Changgui took a deep breath and said, "How would I know? If I knew how to coax her, I would have been a tailor and lived a comfortable life. Why would I work so hard on the construction site every day to earn those few work points?"
Sun Xiaohui hesitated and spoke slowly: "Do you think it is possible... because Xiaoxi is pretty?"
As for Ruan Xi's appearance, she was usually dressed neatly and cleanly, never wore patched clothes, and had two big black braids tied with red hairbands. She could be said to be one of the best in the whole Fengming Mountain.
Ruan Changgui felt something was wrong when he heard this. He frowned and looked at Sun Xiaohui and said, "Don't have any dirty thoughts about me. The old tailor is over 70 years old and Xiaoxi is only 14. What are you talking about?"
Sun Xiaohui muttered softly: "I didn't say anything, you just misunderstood..."
Ruan Changgui suppressed his anger and said, "Shut your stinky mouth!"
Sun Xiaohui knew that what she said was indeed nasty. Not to mention that the old tailor was too old to do such a thing, even if he was a dozen years younger, he would not have such an idea with his proud and arrogant personality, so she kept her mouth shut.
But the more she thought about it, the more she couldn't understand. The old tailor was such an arrogant person, he looked down on everyone and had never even taken a single apprentice seriously, so why was he so nice to Ruan Xi?
Is it because she has learned the craft well?
Impossible, Ruan Xi has never been good at needlework since she was a child.
Sun Xiaohui lay there and took a deep breath. After a moment, she said, "How about we let Yuejin give it a try as well?"
Ruan Changgui thought she was talking in her sleep, "Do you think the old tailor will accept it?"
Sun Xiaohui turned around and said, "How do we know if we don't try? Didn't Xiaoxi just try it at that time? Didn't she succeed with this try? Our Yuejin is much smarter than Xiaoxi. Maybe he will be more liked by the old tailor."
Ruan Changgui didn't want to care, so he turned over and said, "First, save up half a basket of eggs."
There are only five old hens in the house. They lay three or four eggs a day, and sometimes only two. Half a basket of eggs is enough to save for a while. By the time you have saved enough, you can become an apprentice, but you don’t know when that will be.
Sun Xiaohui felt pain in her heart when she thought of half a basket of eggs. At that time, Liu Xinghua gave half a basket of eggs to Ruan Xi to eat, which was the fuse that prompted her to decide to split the family. Naturally, she still felt reluctant to part with it now.
But after a while of feeling the pain, she thought again - you can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a child!
I had never thought about this before and thought it was completely impossible, but Ruan Xi has done it now, which shows that the old tailor is not a piece of iron or a pile of stinky stones. As long as it suits his taste, it will be fine.
If Ruan Yuejin could learn from the old tailor, wouldn't his family have an easier life in the future as the old tailor won't live for many more years at his age? It would be much more satisfying if Ruan Xi could be pushed away from the old tailor.
This girl has really made her feel frustrated recently.
You can't keep holding this anger in forever, you have to let it out.
After eating meat, she laughed all night and had sweet dreams. When she woke up in the morning, Ruan Xi was in a very good mood. Just like a bird in the mountains, she hums a song while washing and combing her hair, and ties butterfly buckles on the ends of her braids.
After breakfast and getting ready to go out to Jinguan Village, Ruan Xi took out two books from the camphorwood box and put them into her schoolbag - first-grade Chinese and math. She was afraid that Ruan Jie would not take good care of it, so she kept it herself.
Bathed in the morning sunshine, I walked leisurely to the old tailor's house. The old tailor was chopping tobacco in the yard.
There are no fashionable cigarettes in the mountains. The men smoke from pipes. The tobacco is grown on a few trees at home on the edge of the field. They dry it, chop it into pieces themselves, and put it in pipes. After finishing one pipe, they dig up another.
Ruan Xi found a place to put down his schoolbag, went to the old tailor and said, "Master, do you want me to help you?"
The old tailor chopped his tobacco carefully, and said without even looking up: "No, it tastes better when you chop it yourself."
Ruan Xi smiled and said nothing more, thinking that he might just want to smell the smell while chopping.
After watching for a while, she thought of something else and asked again, "By the way, Master, can I leave early this afternoon?"
The old tailor still didn't look up, "It's up to you, I don't care."
It's not like he's learning a skill, so it's up to her whether to come or not, it depends on her convenience.
Seeing that he was chopping tobacco seriously, Ruan Xi stopped talking to him. She turned around and went to find work to do. She cleaned the house inside and out and wiped the floor spotlessly clean.
After the old tailor finished his work, she learned some more things from him.
The old tailor had no method in teaching her. He just taught her whatever he thought of. Only Ruan Xi was not a novice, otherwise she felt that it would be difficult to learn any skills from him, just as others said.
It is not easy to be an apprentice to an old tailor, and this is not a rumor.
At noon, in the main room of the Ruan family.
Ruan Changgui will not be back at noon today, so Sun Xiaohui, Ruan Yuejin and Ruan Yuehua, mother and daughter, are sitting at the table eating. Ruan Yuehua still had a gloomy face, his mind full of the chicken he almost got to eat last night.
Ruan Yuehua is young and a bit naughty, so Sun Xiaohui doesn't care about him.
She told Ruan Yuejin what she had thought about seriously last night, and asked him first: "Yuejin, do you want to be a tailor?"
This was said very suddenly. Ruan Yuejin was stunned for a moment, then looked at Sun Xiaohui and asked, "What do you mean?"
Sun Xiaohui: "What I mean is, if you want to be one, I will save half a basket of eggs for you to take to the old tailor to become his apprentice. Once you learn the craft from him, you will be the only tailor in our Fengming Mountain."
Ruan Yuejin was still a little stunned, "Hasn't he already accepted Ruan Xi as his apprentice?"
Sun Xiaohui didn't take Ruan Xi seriously at all. "So what if he accepts her? As long as he is willing, he can teach ten or eight more. Besides, can Xiaoxi learn it? She can't learn it at all. She can only be a handyman."
Seeing that Ruan Yuejin didn't say anything, she asked again: "Just tell me whether you want to or not?"
Ruan Yuejin was silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "I do want to, but I'm afraid he won't accept me."
Who in this mountain doesn't want to be a tailor? You can be protected from the wind and rain every day, be respected by everyone, and live a comfortable life relying on your skills without having to do hard labor. Even a fool knows that being a tailor is a good job, better than working as a waiter in the supply and marketing cooperative.
Ruan Yuejin knew the old tailor's personality and character, so he still had many concerns and felt that this matter was very difficult. But Sun Xiaohui had great confidence in him and said to him, "What are you afraid of? Let's go first. Are you not as good as Xiaoxi? She is a girl after all. She is not as smart as you. She is inferior in every aspect. What can she do that you can't?"
Ruan Yuejin has been praised by Sun Xiaohui since he was a child, and his self-confidence can be said to be quite strong. He lowered his brows and thought for a while, then looked at Sun Xiaohui and said, "I am indeed better than her in every aspect, but I am afraid that the old tailor will not like me."
Sun Xiaohui said: "How is that possible? My son is so smart and sensible, and he has been loved since he was young."
Ruan Yuejin looked into Sun Xiaohui's eyes and instantly felt that he was the most well-rounded person in the world. He even felt that he could impress the old tailor just by walking into the tailor shop, so he nodded without hesitation and said, "Well, I'll give it a try."
Sun Xiaohui couldn't help but feel happy, "Just wait a few more days, and I'll have all the eggs ready soon."
Of course, it would not be possible to rely on her five old hens, so she decided that as long as Ruan Yuejin was willing to go, she would borrow eggs from other people's homes. Borrow a little from this house and a little from that house, and half a basket of eggs will only last a few days.
Give the eggs to Ruan Yuejin first so that he can become your apprentice, and she will pay you back slowly later.
After discussing this matter with Ruan Yuejin, she felt relieved, as if she had already seen Ruan Yuejin becoming a tailor. She felt energetic, and immediately after dinner she carried a basket and went out to borrow eggs from various households.
In the afternoon, the sun sets in the western sky.
Ruan Xi chose the right time, said hello to the old tailor, put on his backpack and left.
When she reached the road that led to Fengyan Brigade, she saw Ruan Jie squatting on the side of the road picking up stones to play with. She walked lightly to Ruan Jie, reached out and patted Ruan Jie on the head, scaring Ruan Jie so much that she quickly raised her head.
Seeing that it was Ruan Xi, Ruan Jie smiled and quickly stood up, "Sister, you're here."
Ruan Xi walked forward with her, "Have you been waiting for me for a long time?"
Ruan Jie said: "No, I came here looking at the sun."
The two sisters walked forward while talking, and Ruan Xi took Ruan Jie to a few hillsides they often went to look for Ling Yao.
Finding Ling Yao at the old place, Ruan Xi waved to him from afar and pulled Ruan Jie to him.
Ling Yao was smiling when he looked at Ruan Xi, and was polite when he looked at Ruan Jie, and greeted her: "Hello."
Ruan Jie and Ling Yao had never had any contact, let alone a conversation. Because Ling Yao was from a big city, she subconsciously felt a little awkward, so she replied restrainedly: "Hello to you too."
Hearing this, Ruan Xi couldn't help but laugh.
Ruan Jie felt even more embarrassed and patted Ruan Xi lightly, "What are you laughing at?"
Ruan Xi stopped laughing, took out the Chinese and math textbooks from her schoolbag, put them on the stone and said, "Let's not waste any more time, let's get started. Let's start with the first grade Chinese and math. Thank you, Mr. Ling."
Ling Yao said in a gentle voice: "No need to call me teacher."
After saying that, he also rummaged through his schoolbag and found two or three white pieces of lime.
He gave one to Ruan Xi and Ruan Jie, and put his hand on the stone. "I picked it up in the mountains. I don't have paper or pen to use, so just write on this stone. When it's full, you can erase it and write a new one."
Ruan Xi held a piece of lime in her hand, looked at Ling Yao and smiled, "You are so thoughtful."
It is indeed impossible to study without a pen. Without a pen and paper, you can only find other things to replace them.
Since Ling Yao promised Ruan Xi this, he was serious about it. This is how he always does things. If he does something, he either doesn't do it at all, or he does it well and won't do it perfunctorily.
He, Ruan Xi and Ruan Jie lay down beside the stone, took out the Chinese textbook and opened it, asking Ruan Xi and Ruan Jie for their opinions, "Then let's start with Chinese. Do you think it's okay?"
Ruan Xi nodded, "Okay."
Ruan Jie had no idea, so if Ruan Xi said it was okay, she would do it.
Ling Yao took the Chinese textbook and looked at it for a while, then looked at Ruan Xi and Ruan Jie and asked, "Twenty-six letters, do you know them?"
Ruan Xi didn't think much about it and nodded at him, "Yes."
Ruan Jie hesitated for a while and whispered, "I only remember abcdefg, I can't remember the others."
Ling Yao nodded at her and started teaching her from the twenty-six letters.
He taught pronunciation first, intending to teach all the pronunciation well. After Ruan Xi and Ruan Jie could recite and write them down, he would then teach them the knowledge of initials and finals. In short, start from scratch, take it step by step, and you can't become fat in one bite.
For the rest of the afternoon, Ruan Xi and Ruan Jie lay on the rocks and studied. They first listened to Ling Yao's lecture, and then they looked at the textbooks and took pieces of lime to write on the stones, writing each letter eight or ten times.
Ruan Xi didn't actually need to learn it, but she had to pretend, so she was still very serious.
She worked so hard until she got home in the evening, and then she relaxed a little, but Ruan Jie did not relax. Whether she was walking or starting her work at home, she was still mumbling the letters.
Liu Xinghua was curious about her mumbling, but she couldn't tell what she was mumbling, so she asked her, "What are you reading?"
Ruan Jie came back to her senses after hearing the voice and quickly said, "Oh, grandma, I'm studying."
Liu Xinghua was even more confused, "What are you learning?"
Ruan Jie looked at Ruan Xi, and Ruan Xi explained: "It's just learning to recognize words, to learn more words."
Liu Xinghua understood this and nodded in approval, "It's a good thing to know more words."
Sun Xiaohui happened to be walking past outside and heard the conversation between the three people. She couldn't help but mutter to herself in her heart - this damn girl is really making trouble for no reason and making up stories for no reason. What's the point of going through the trouble of learning so many words?
No matter how many characters you know, even if you only know a bushel of characters, can that bushel of characters turn into a bushel of grain?
Look at the family in the stilt house who are the most literate, but they are still so poor that they have to wear straw sandals here.
Muttering to herself, she went into the main room, carefully took out the eggs from the basket and put them away.
For the time being, her mind was all on her eldest son Ruan Yuejin, and she had no time to take care of Ruan Jie. After she had saved up the eggs, she would let Ruan Yuejin find an old tailor to become his apprentice. She would then find time to deal with that dead girl when she had some free time.
In order to get Ruan Yue to become his disciple, Sun Xiaohui went out to borrow eggs every day for the next few days. Sometimes there are more, sometimes less, and I save each one and pile them up layer by layer in the basket.
Ruan Xi didn't pay attention to what Sun Xiaohui did, mainly because she didn't have the time or energy to waste on her second mother. She still went to the old tailor's house in the morning every day, and then found time to meet Ruan Jie in the afternoon to go to Ling Yao to learn.
Ruan Jie is a slow learner, but fortunately she studies very seriously and never slacks off.
After Ling Yao taught them to memorize the twenty-six letters and began to teach them initials and finals, he also asked them to memorize the multiplication table in mathematics. Whenever you have time, recite it in your mouth, from one to ninety-nine to eighty-one.
No one has asked the old tailor to make clothes these days, so Ruan Xi would leave in the afternoon by looking at the height of the sun.
There was nothing wrong in the past few days, but today, when she put on her schoolbag and said goodbye and was about to leave, the old tailor suddenly said to her: "You don't have to come tomorrow."
Ruan Xi was stunned when he heard this - what does this mean? You want to let her go after less than half a month of taking her as your apprentice? But the most important and core thing is that he has not yet taught the patterns and drawing and cutting of different clothing!
Is it because she left early that you have an issue with it? You can say it out!
The old tailor looked at Ruan Xi's expression and was not in a hurry. He slowly took out a receipt and some money from his pocket and handed them to Ruan Xi before continuing, "Go to the commune and get me half a catty of wine. I'm craving it."
Ruan Xi's body softened and he breathed a sigh of relief—Master! Why are you breathing so hard when you talk?
She reached out to take the drink ticket and money, and replied, "I know."
The old tailor lay down on the rocking chair and said leisurely, "There is a wine gourd in the cabinet, just use that to beat it. There are also a few pieces of peach cakes in it, which have been there for a while. If you don't eat them now, they will go bad. You can eat them."
Ruan Xi thought about it and realized that it would take four days of mountain road to go to the commune and back, so he looked at the old tailor and said, "Then I won't be polite."
The old tailor said, "Well," and said, "Go ahead."
Ruan Xi took the key and went to the cabinet to get the wine gourd, and put the peach cakes that the old tailor mentioned into his schoolbag. The peach cakes were wrapped in brown paper, and there were only three pieces left, but that was a luxury in those days.
Ruan Xi took the wine gourd and carried his schoolbag and walked away, but after taking two steps he suddenly turned back.
She stood in front of the old tailor, hesitated for a moment and asked: "Master, do you still have the wine ticket?"
The old tailor opened his eyes and looked at her: "What do you want to do?"
Ruan Xi's eyebrows curved, and her words were sweet: "Lend me one."
The old tailor looked at her for a moment, took a deep breath, took out another ticket from his pocket and pushed it in front of her.
Ruan Xi quickly reached out to take it, her smile brightened, and her voice became sweeter: "Thank you, Master!"
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